VJ Day: Belfast marks years with city hall at memorial to NI's only VC winner, and St Anne's Cathedral Burma remembrance
Northern Ireland’s capital city marked the 80th anniversary of VJ Day with a wreath-laying ceremony at city hall and a service in St Anne’s Cathedral.
Marking the solemn commemoration in Belfast, the city’s Lord Mayor, Tracy Kelly, today laid a wreath at the memorial to VC recipient James Magennis in the grounds of city hall.
Seaman Magennis was the sole native of Northern Ireland to receive the Victoria Cross in the Second World War. A submariner involved in missions against Axis ships, his craft was attacking a Japanese cruiser in Singapore in July 1945 when showed extraordinary valour and bravery by leaving the submarine to free explosive charges that had got caught.
As well as observing two minutes of silence, the Lord Mayor also hosted a special event inside city hall looking back at the city’s contribution to the war effort in south-east Asia.
Actor Dan Gordon led a discussion with Lt Colonel Mark Scott and Maeve Cadden from the Inniskillings Museum on the role of Ulster forces, while historian Jason Burke shared the story of Seaman Magennis and music was provided by the City of Belfast Youth Orchestra.
One of those gathered at the memorial was Norman Leslie, 84, from Bangor, Co Down.
Mr Leslie, who served as a submariner in the Royal Navy during the Cold War, said he felt it was important to honour the memory of James Magennis.
He said the event acted as a “timely reminder” to younger generations.
“To me it was just to let all the young ones know that there was stuff happening that probably their father or grandfather did during the war, and to let them know what was happening, because some maybe just don’t know anything whatsoever about what happened,” he said.
St Anne’s Cathedral hosted an act of remembrance, led by Dean of Belfast the Very Rev Stephen Forde. Taking place at noon next to a commemorative mosaic of the Burma Star Association in the cathedral, which features the Burma Star Association Standard, organisers stated the event was to “remember the suffering of all those who served from these shores in Burma, the Far East and in the Pacific”.
The Public Record Office of Northern Ireland hosted an illustrated lecture on people from Ulster who fought and died in the Far East, while the evening is to see special lighting displays on Titanic Walkway and Queens Quay.